THE BUSINESS BENEFITS OF A SOLID
MIS INFRASTRUCTURE
Chapter 5
• MIS Infrastructure—Includes the plans for how a firm will
build, deploy, use, and share its data, processes, and MIS
assets
 Hardware
 Software
 Network
 Client
 Server
• Enterprise Architect—Is a person grounded in technology,
fluent in business, and able to provide the important bridge
between MIS and the business
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SUPPORTING OPERATIONS: INFORMATION
MIS INFRASTRUCTURE
Chapter 5
• Backup and Recovery Plan
• Backup—An exact copy of a system’s information
• Recovery—The ability to get a system up and running in
the event of a system crash or failure
 Fault tolerance
 Failover
 Failback
• Companies should choose a backup and recovery strategy
in line with their goals and operational needs
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SUPPORTING OPERATIONS: INFORMATION
MIS INFRASTRUCTURE
Chapter 5
• Disaster Recovery Plan
• Hot Site—A separate and fully equipped facility where the
company can move immediately after a disaster and resume
business
• Cold Site—A separate facility that does not have any
computer equipment, but is a place where employees can
move after a disaster
• Warm Site—A separate facility with computer equipment
that requires installation and configuration
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SUPPORTING OPERATIONS: INFORMATION
MIS INFRASTRUCTURE
Chapter 5
• Disaster Recovery Plan
 Disaster Recovery Plan—A detailed process for
recovering information or an IT system in the event of a
catastrophic disaster such as a fire or flood
 Disaster Recovery Cost Curve—Charts (1) the cost to the
organization of the unavailability of info and technology
and (2) the cost to the organization of recovering from a
disaster over time
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SUPPORTING OPERATIONS: INFORMATION
MIS INFRASTRUCTURE
Chapter 5
• Business Continuity Plan
 Business Continuity Planning (BCP)—A plan for how
an organization will recover and restore partially or
completely interrupted critical function(s) within a
predetermined time after a disaster or extended
disruption
 Emergency Notification Service—An infrastructure built
for notifying people in the event of an emergency
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SUPPORTING CHANGE:
AGILE MIS INFRASTRUCTURE
Chapter 5
• Accessibility—Refers to the varying levels that define what a
user can access, view, or perform when operating a system
 Administrator Access—Unrestricted access to the entire system.
• Availability—Time frames when the system is operational
 Unavailable—Time frames when a system is not operating and cannot
be used
 High availability—System is continuously operational at all times
• Maintainability—How quickly a system can transform to
support environmental changes
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SUPPORTING CHANGE:
AGILE MIS INFRASTRUCTURE
Chapter 5
• Portability—The ability of an application to operate on
different devices or software platforms
• Reliability—Ensures a system is functioning correctly and
providing accurate information
• Scalability—How well a system can scale
up, or adapt to the increased demands
of growth
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SUPPORTING CHANGE:
AGILE MIS INFRASTRUCTURE
Chapter 5
• Performance—Measures how quickly a system performs
a process or transaction
• Capacity planning—Determines future environmental
infrastructure requirements to ensure high-quality system
performance
• Usability—The degree to which a system is easy to learn
and efficient and satisfying to use
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MIS AND THE ENVIRONMENT
Chapter 5
• Moore’s Law—Refers to how the computer chip
performance per dollar doubles every 18 months
• Sustainable, or “Green,” MIS—Describes the production,
management, use, and disposal of technology in a way
that minimizes damage to the environment
• Corporate Social Responsibility—Companies’
acknowledged responsibility to society
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MIS AND THE ENVIRONMENT
Chapter 5
• Increased Electronic Waste
 Ewaste—Refers to discarded, obsolete, or broken
electronic devices
 Sustainable MIS Disposal—Refers to the safe disposal
of MIS assets at the end of their life cycle
• Increased Energy Consumption
 The energy consumed by a computer is estimated to
produce as much as 10 percent of the amount of carbon
dioxide produced by an automobile
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MIS AND THE ENVIRONMENT
Chapter 5
• Increased Carbon Emissions
 The major human-generated greenhouse gases, such as
carbon emissions from energy use, are very likely
responsible for the increases in climatic temperature
over the past half a century
 When left on continuously, a single desktop computer
and monitor can consume at least 100 watts of power
per hour
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SUPPORTING THE ENVIRONMENT:
SUSTAINABLE MIS INFRASTRUCTURE
Chapter 5
• Grid Computing—A collection of computers, often
geographically dispersed, that are coordinated to solve a
common problem
• Cloud Computing—Refers to the use of resources and
applications hosted remotely on the Internet
 Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)
 Software as a Service (SaaS)
 Platform as a Service (PaaS)
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SUPPORTING THE ENVIRONMENT:
SUSTAINABLE MIS INFRASTRUCTURE
Chapter 5
• Virtualization—Creates multiple “virtual” machines on a
single computing device
• Data Center—A facility used to house management
information systems and associated components, such as
telecommunications and storage systems
• Sustainable Data Centers
 Reduces carbon emissions
 Reduces required floor space
 Chooses geographic location
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